Electrical connector

ABSTRACT

An electrical connector for electrically connecting a plurality of insulated wires together. The connector includes two unitary ferrule forming portions, one mounted inside the other with their sidewalls substantially parallel to and spaced from one another, and connected to one another at one side. Insulation piercing serrations run transversely across the inside of the larger ferrule forming portion and the outside of the smaller ferrule forming portion such that the insulation on a plurality of wires mounted there-between may be pierced when the connector is crimped. In addition, the inside of the smaller ferrule forming portion has a plurality of slots running transversely thereacross which act to pierce the insulation of any wires crimped inside.

Hansen Oct. 28, 1975 ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR [75] Inventor: Wallace A.Hansen, Fort Wayne,

Ind.

[73] Assignee: Essex International, Inc Fort Wayne, Ind.

[22] Filed: Jan. 6, 1975 [21] Appl. No.: 538,795

Primary Examiner-Darrell L. Clay Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Robert D.Sommer; Lawrence E. Freiburger [57] ABSTRACT An electrical connector forelectrically connecting a plurality of insulated wires together. Theconnector includes two unitary ferrule forming portions, one mountedinside the other with their sidewalls substantially parallel to andspaced from one another, and connected to one another at one side.Insulation piercing serrations run transversely across the inside of thelarger ferrule forming portion and the outside of the smaller ferruleforming portion such that the insulation on a plurality of wires mountedthere-between may be pierced when the connector is crimped. In addition,the inside of the smaller ferrule forming portion has a plurality ofslots running transversely thereacross which act to pierce theinsulation of any wires crimped inside.

2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures US. Patent Oct.28, 1975 Sheet1of2 3,916,85

U.S. Patent Oct. 28, 1975 Sheet20f2 3,916,085

ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the prior art,insulated wires of the magnet wire type have been spliced together usinga crimped connector. Such a connector is shown in US. Pat. No.2,800,638. This connector provides an adequate electrical connectionbetween three magnet wires and a stranded conductor, but is unable tohandle as many as five or even eight magnet wires and a strandedconductor.

Also, in the prior art, is the connector shown in US. Pat. No.3,566,006. In FIGS. and 6 of this patent, there is disclosed a connectorfor splicing together wires of the magnet wire type which comprises anouter sleeve 31 and an inner sleeve 33, the inner sleeve having barbs 37extending inwardly such that they pierce the magnet wire insulation whenthe connector is twisted. Although this connector can splice togethermore magnet wires than the connector of U.S. Pat. No. 2,800,638, itsuffers from the drawback that twisting machinery is required in orderto make the proper connection. Thus, standard crimping machinery such asthat which would be used for the connector of US. Pat. No. 2,800,638cannot be used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to anelectrical connector adapted for use with standard crimping machinery,which can splice together eight or more magnet wires and one strandedconductor. Briefly, the present invention comprises a unitary electricalconnector formed of two U-shaped ferrule forming portions, one smallerthan, and mounted inside the other and with the sidewalls of the twoferrule forming portions being substantially parallel to one another.The inside of the larger portion and the outside of the smaller portionare provided with insulating piercing serrations or grooves runningtransversely thereacross such that the burrs on the serrations piercethe magnet wire insulation when a wire or wires are crimped between thetwo ferrule forming portions. Additionally, the smaller portion hasslots formed therein with burrs extending inwardly such that theinsulation on any magnet wire or wires crimped in the smaller portion ispierced by the burrs.

One advantage of a connector in accordance with the present invention isits ability to be used with conventional crimping machinery. Anotherdistinct advantage of the present invention over the prior art is theability of the present invention to make an adequate electrical andmechanical connection between eight or more magnet wires and a strandedconductor.

Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a splice clipconstruction which can splice together as many as eight magnet wireswith one stranded conductor and which is adaptable for use with standardcrimping machinery. Further, objects and advantages of the presentinvention will be evident from the following description of theinvention taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a splice clip constructed in accordancewith the present invention FIG. 2 is a top elevational view of a spliceclip in accordance with the present invention, shown in an intermediatestage of manufacture FIG. 3 is a partial enlarged cross sectional viewtaken along line 33 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of a connection between a plurality ofinsulated wires using a splice clip in accordance with the presentinvention FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the crimped connectionshown in FIG. 4 taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the preferredembodiment of the invention there is shown in the drawing figures asplice clip construction, adapted for use with conventional crimpingmachinery for splicing together eight or more magnet wires and onestranded conductor. This splice clip includes two splice clip or ferruleforming portions, 10 and 12 which are unitary with one another, portion12 being smaller than portion 10. The larger ferrule forming portion 10preferably is provided with magnet wire insulation piercing grooves orserrations 14 which run transversely thereacross.

The second ferrule forming portion 12 is integrally connected with thefirst ferrule forming portion 10 by a connecting portion 16, and isarranged inside the first ferrule forming portion 10 with the sidewalls17 of the second ferrule forming portion 12 being substantially parallelto the sidewalls 15 of the first ferrule forming portion 10. The secondferrule forming portion 12 may be of the same general cross-sectionalshape as the first splice clip portion 10 and preferably has a pluralityof magnet wire insulation piercing grooves or serrations 18 runningtransversely around the outside thereof. Thus it can be seen that theinsulation on any magnet wires located between the inside of the largeferrule forming portion 10 and the outside of the small ferrule formingportion 12 will be pierced by either the serrations 14 or 18, or both,when the connector is crimped.

According to the preferred embodiment of the inven tion, the smallferrule forming portion 12 is also provided with magnet wire insulationpiercing means on the inside surface thereof in the form of staggeredperforations 20 which are arranged in rows and which extend across thesmall splice clip portion 12. The perforations 20 are punched from theoutside of the small clip 12 so that burrs are formed on the insidewhich act to pierce through the insulation on any magnet wires locatedinside the small ferrule forming portion 12.

It should be noted than an essential feature of the present invention isthat both the inside and outside surfaces of the small ferrule formingportion 12 as well as the inside of the large ferrule forming portion 10to be provided with some sort of magnet wire insulation piercing means.Although, in the preferred embodiment of the invention the insidesurface of the small ferrule forming portion 12 is provided withinsulation piercing means in the form of burrs which are formed when theperforations 20 are punched from the outside, it should be noted thatthe inside surface may be provided with insulation piercing means in theform of serrations running transversely thereacross. Also, the

- serrations 14 and 18 may be replaced by other magnet wire insulationpiercing means, if desired.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a splice clip constructed in accordance withthe preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in anintermediate stage of manufacture. The splice clip, in accordance withthe present invention, may be stamped from any suitably conductive metalsuch that the small ferrule forming por- "tion 12 extends from the largeferrule forming portion and is integrally connected thereto byconnecting portion 16. The perforations and the serrations 14 and 18 maybe made from the same side of the blank prior to bending the blank inits final shape.

Shown in FIG. 3 is an enlarged, cross sectional view of a portion of thesmall ferrule forming portion 12. Preferably, the serrations 18 areformed by broaching or milling the blank when it is in a flat state,such as in FIG. 2. Each of the serrations 18 have a flat bottom 22 whichforms an obtuse angle with sides 24. As a result of the broaching ormilling operation, a burr is formed at each intersection 26 of side 24with the upper surface 28 of the blank. Reference numerals are appliedto only one serration 18 in FIG. 3 for ease of description, but it willbe appreciated that each serration 18 on the small ferrule formingportion 12 and each serration 14 on the large ferrule forming portion 10will be formed in the same manner such that burrs are formed at theintersection of the sides of the serrations with the upper surface 28 ofthe blank on which the serration is formed.

Preferably, the perforations 20 are punched in the small ferrule formingportion from the same side as the side on which the serrations 18 areformed. By punching the perforations in the small ferrule formingportion 12 from side 28, a burr will be formed at the intersection ofthe underside 30 with the perforation 20. It is not essential that theperforations 20 be arranged in the exact pattern shown in the drawings.It is essential that when the splice clip construction of the presentinvention is crimped closed at lease one, and preferably more than one,perforation intersect a wire located in the small ferrule formingportion. Additionally, the perforations 20 need not necessarily be thesame shape as is shown in the drawing FIGURES. These perforations 20could be round, triangular or any other convenient shape.

In using the splice clip in accordance with the present invention it hasbeen found that the wires need not be arranged in the splice clip in anypreferrential manner. For example, in splicing together eight magnetwires and one stranded conductor, the magnet wires can all be located inbetween the large and small ferrule forming portions 10 and 12 with thestranded conductor being located inside the small ferrule formingportion 12. Alternatively, the stranded conductor can be located betweenthe large and small ferrule forming portions 10 and 12 along with one ortwo magnet wires and the remainder of the magent wires located insidethe small ferrule forming portion 12. These are only two of the possiblewire configurations that with which a splice clip in accordance with thepresent invention could be used.

A plurality of splice clips in accordance with the present invention maybe connected together by frangible tabs in strip form and used withconventional crimping machinery. Since a splice clip in accordance withthe present invention has an open side and because the wires do not haveto be preferentially oriented in the splice clip, the present inventionsaves time, and therefore costly labor, in relation to the type priorart devices which require that the wires be inserted axially into aconnector. It can be seen that, in splicing together a plurality ofmagnet wires and stranded conductors with a splice clip of the presentinvention, the machine operator need only insert a number of the wireslaterally into the splice clip between the large ferrule forming portionand the small ferrule forming portion 12, insert the remainder of thewires inside the smaller ferrule forming portion 12, and crimp thesplice clip in conventional machinery.

The distance between the outside of the small ferrule forming portion 12and the inside of the large ferrule forming portion 10 at any pointshould, at the most, only slightly exceed the sum of the diameter of twoof the magnet wires to be spliced together. Thus, referring to FIG. 1,dimensions A, B and C should, at the most, only slightly exceed the sumof the diameter of two of the magnet wires to be spliced together. Ifany of these dimensions substantially exceeds the sum of the diameter oftwo of the wires to be spliced together, it would be possible for one ofthe wires to be located in the splice clip in such a position that itdid not contact either the inside surface of the large ferrule formingportion 10 or the outside of the small ferrule forming portion 12, andtherefore no electrical contact would be made to this wire. In practice,dimensions A, B and C do not have to be the same. For instance,dimension A may be made slightly larger so as to allow the wires to beeasily inserted into the opening between the two ferrule formingportions, and dimension C may be made smaller so as to allow only onewire between the outside of the small ferrule forming portion 12 and theinside of the large ferrule forming portion 10.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, there is shown a cross sectional view ofa spliced connection between a plurality of magnet wires and a strandedconductor using a splice clip in accordance with the present invention.It can be seen that, in this instance, a plurality of larger gaugemagnet wires, i.e. 8 gauge, indicated by reference numeral 33, arelocated between the two ferrule forming portions. Reference numeral 36designates a stranded conductor which is located inside, the smallferrule forming portion 12. Additionally, two small gauge magnet wires34, i.e. 12 gauge, are located one inside and one outside the smallferrule forming portion 12. It can be seen that the magnet wires 33 andor both, and since the two ferrule forming portions are unitary, anadequate electrical connection between them is assured. Moreover, thewires will tend to extrude into the serrations l8 and 14 and intoperforations 20, whereby the burrs 26 and 32 on the serrations andperforations will pierce the tough insulation on the magnet wires tomake an adequate electrical connection between the magnet wires.

Minor modifications will occur to those skilled in the art and it isintended that such modifications come within the scope of the inventionas defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A crimpable electrical connector for electrically connecting aplurality of electrical conductors together, which comprises:

a first U-shaped ferrule forming portion, said first U- shaped ferruleforming portion including first and second spaced apart sidewalls, andinside and outside surfaces on said first ferrule forming portion;

a second U-shaped ferrule forming portion, said second U-shaped ferruleforming portion including first and second spaced apart sidewalls,inside and outside surfaces on said second U-shaped ferrule formingportion, said second U-shaped ferrule forming portion being locatedinside said first ferrule forming portion with said first sidewalls onsaid first and second ferrule forming portions extending substantiallyparallel to and spaced from one another and said second sidewalls onsaid first and second ferrule forming portions being unitary with, andextending substantially parallel to and spaced from one another; and

said first U-shaped ferrule forming portion and on the inside andoutside surfaces of said second ferrule forming portion whereby saidinsulation piercing means on said surfaces pierces through theinsulation on a wire adjacent thereto when said connector is crimpedclosed.

2. A crimpable electrical connector for electrically connecting aplurality of electrical conductors, which comprises:

insulation piercing means on the inside surface of insulation piercingserrations on the inside surface of said first ferrule forming portionand on the outside surface of said second ferrule forming portion; andinsulation piercing perforations in said second ferrule forming portion,said perforations having burrs at the intersection of said perforationswith said inside surface of said second ferrule forming portion. =I l

1. A crimpable electrical connector for electrically connecting aplurality of electrical conductors together, which comprises: a firstU-shaped ferrule forming portion, said first U-shaped ferrule formingportion including first and second spaced apart sidewalls, and insideand outside surfaces on said first ferrule forming portion; a secondU-shaped ferrule forming portion, said second U-shaped ferrule formingportion including first and second spaced apart sidewalls, inside andoutside surfaces on said second U-shaped ferrule forming portion, saidsecond U-shaped ferrule forming portion being located inside said firstferrule forming portion with said first sidewalls on said first andsecond ferrule forming portions extending substantially parallel to andspaced from one another and said second sidewalls on said first andsecond ferrule forming portions being unitary with, and extendingsubstantially parallel to and spaced from one another; and insulationpiercing means on the inside surface of said first Ushaped ferruleforming portion and on the inside and outside surfaces of said secondferrule forming portion whereby said insulation piercing means on saidsurfaces pierces through the insulation on a wire adjacent thereto whensaid connector is crimped closed.
 2. A crimpable electrical connectorfor electrically connecting a plurality of electrical conductors, whichcomprises: a first ferrule forming portion having inside and outsidEsurfaces; a second ferrule forming portion unitary with said firstferrule forming portion, said second ferrule forming portion havinginside and outside surfaces and being located inside said first ferruleforming portion with said outside surface of said second ferrule formingportion facing said inside surface on said first ferrule forming portionand spaced there-from; insulation piercing serrations on the insidesurface of said first ferrule forming portion and on the outside surfaceof said second ferrule forming portion; and insulation piercingperforations in said second ferrule forming portion, said perforationshaving burrs at the intersection of said perforations with said insidesurface of said second ferrule forming portion.